Lumberjacks power past Mountaineers

NEW YORK — Thomas Walkup scored 33 points as 14th-seeded Stephen F. Austin faced down West Virginia’s full-court pressure with some of its own in-your-face defense, pulling off a rugged, 70-56 East Region first-round upset of the third-seeded Mountaineers on Friday in the NCAA tournament.

The Lumberjacks ( 28-5) ran the nation’s longest winning streak to 21 games and will face either No. 6 seed Notre Dame or No. 11 Michigan on Sunday in the second round.

The Mountaineers ( 26- 9) and Lumberjacks played physical, chestto-chest defense, contesting not just every shot, but every pass. Neither team shot better than 31 percent.

Walkup, the two-time Southland Conference player of the year, took it to the teeth of West Virginia’s defense and went to the line 20 times. He made 19, including two to make it 60-47 with 5:15 left in the second after West Virginia coach Bob Huggins’ griping to officials drew a technical.

Iowa 72, Temple 70 NEW YORK — One rebound by 7- foot-1 Adam Woodbury put all of Iowa’s recent woes in the rearview mirror.

Woodbury’s fifth rebound of the game was a putback at the overtime buzzer that gave the seventh-seeded Hawkeyes a victory in a South Region first-round game.

The Hawkeyes came into the game having lost six of their last eight games and they had lost five of their last six NCAA tournament games. All that matters now is Iowa (22-10) will play second-seeded Villanova in the second round Sunday.

With the game tied at 70, Mike Gesell worked his way to the baseline and shot about a 10-foot jumper that missed the rim and went right to Woodbury, who put it in as the red lights around the backboard lit up.

“Coach always tells me get on the glass every possession,” Woodbury said. “So I knew that if Mike got a good look at it and it was a little long, I’d be able to get the offensive rebound. I was fortunate enough to put it in.”

The Hawkeyes got the chance at the game-winner when Daniel Dingle of Temple, who played just six minutes and was in the game because Devin Coleman had fouled out a minute earlier, missed the front end of a 1-and-1.

“We just wanted to be solid, and I thought Josh Brown did a great job on Gesell and made him shoot a really difficult shot,” Temple coach Fran Dunphy said. “And then, obviously, it’s a free-for-all at that point, hoping you’re getting it and their guys aren’t. Obviously, Woodbury got it and stuck it back in, but I thought our defense was really good that last possession.”

Jarrod Uthoff led Iowa with 23 points, while Peter Jok had 16 and Woodbury finished with 10.

Quenton DeCosey, who made three free throws with 2.1 seconds left in regulation to tie the game, had 26 points for the Owls (21-12).

Villanova 86, UNC-Asheville 56 NEW YORK — The first round of the tournament was about as easy as could be for second-seeded Villanova. The Wildcats even got minutes for some walk-ons as they rolled in a South Region game.

Now comes the part that has been so hard for coach Jay Wright’s team. The hurdle the Wildcats have not cleared since 2009: their second game of the tournament.

“Everyone’s been talking about this next game coming up for the whole year, even before we got in the tournament, but it’s very humbling for us to be able to get this first win,” Daniel Ochefu said.

Ryan Arcidiacono scored 14 points, including a buzzer- beating 3 at the end of the first half, and Ochefu had 17 points and 10 rebounds for Villanova, which is looking to reach the second weekend of the tournament for the first time since their 2009 Final Four run.

The early exits, including the last two seasons as either a No. 1 or 2 seed, have made that Final Four seem long ago for Wildcats fans.

“All season, if we would have answered those questions and we lost this game today, we’re idiots,” Wright said.

Villanova spent three weeks at No. 1 this season and won the Big East regular-season title but faces massive pressure to reach the Sweet 16.

Another second- round loss will lead to another round of questions about NCAA flameouts.

“I’m happy for them, how they’ve handled everything to get to this point,” Wright said. “And now everyone’s going to ask the question. We’ve got to go do it. That’s the bottom line.”

Dylan Smith led 15th- seeded UNC-Asheville (22-12) with 14 points.